Friday, July 20, 2012

Hello! Owyn is back again for another Book vs Movie blog post. For this week, I'm doing Carl Hiaasen's Hoot.

VS

*ALERTS ALERTING, THERE ARE PROBABLY SPOILERS AHEAD*If you've noticed a theme in my Book vs. Movie blog posts, it's how I did not have a conventional childhood when it came to reading books and watching their movies. This book/movie is no different! Back in 2006, when this movie was all over commercials and Nickelodeon, I decided to read the book and my mom rewarded me by buying the movie.But alas! She bought the movie along with the book, so whenever I read, I would feel the movie urging me to be watched. "Owyn.... watch me," it would say in a persuasive and eerie voice. And since I was a very annoying nine-year-old, I pestered my mom to let me watch the movie before I finished the book. But no, she is as stubborn as I am. But we decided on a compromise: when I finished the first half of the book, I get to watch the first half of the movie. I accomplished this task easily. I hoped to slip past my mom and watch the entire movie, but she watched me like a prison warden. Then I finished the rest of the book, and got to watch the rest of the movie. And I did notice a few differences.

Differences I Noticed:

They never say what Mullet Finger's real name is in the movie

Officer Delinko was never promoted in the book

In the book, Roy is suspended for 2 weeks, in the movie it's 3 days.

In the movie, Roy says his name is Ling Ho in the hospital. In the book, it's Tex.

NOTE:
When I did watch this movie, I watched it with my close friends Josh and Hudson. Since they were older and obviously more versed (sarcasm), they would tease me by trying to tell me major plot events and spoilers. This usually ended with me with my palms over my ears and shouting "I'M NOT LISTENING" over and over until they finally shut up.

Did I enjoy the book or the movie?:
I have to say, while I enjoyed both, the book was my favorite, even with the slight skewing after watching the first half of the movie with it. I thought that it was funny, the characters were great examples for kids my age, and that it was very well written. And the owls were adorable to read and watch. But I did feel a slight difference after watching the first half of the movie. I guess that's just what happens when your imagination is told what to think (it's almost like a betrayal). But even with that, I still enjoyed the book.

Which do you think was better? Tell me what you think in the comments. Well, until next week!
Owyn